Dear Ezra: - I will try to an-

swer your letter this morning.

We were pleased to hear from

you also to hear of your mother's

being in better health. I suppose

you do miss Margaret since her

leaving for California. Well, we are

getting along very well for old

people considering the hard times

Lee being with us doing the farm

work. We have begun to try to

build a house down in the

mouth of the hollow Northwest

of the old one; getting off the hill

being tired climbing it. We have

the lumber on the site and the

basement about finished a four

roomed house and basement 26

by 28 feet, porch in front fa-

cing the road.

Our daughter Edna and her hus-

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have two children Wilton 3 years

of age and Doris Jane 7 months

They are aiming to build them

a house in the field facing

the mouth of the cave which

they mean to light up with a

Delcore light; they have their

lumber ready also.

Ezra, your great grandfather

John C. Lewis was a native of

North Carolina and was a pi-

oneer of Cane Creek, Hickman

County Tenn. He was a

slave owner; had much land

and was a very rich man

for that day. He owned l2 Negros

Your grandfather J. C. was

"well off" until the Civil impov-

ished him. He owned 3 good

farms in Fulton County Ark

two of these farms he sold for

Confederate money which was

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Your grandfather Volunteered

at Salem Fulton County, Ark

I suppose in l861, was wounded

at the Battle of Shiloh April

6, 1862. This was his 38th

birth day. He was in the front

line of the skirmishes that morning

you see the Confederates surprised

Grants army that morning and

drove the yanks off the field but

while doing that your grandfather

was struck in the right side

with an ounce of lead. The

bullet was cut out at his back

He was reported Killed on the

field of battle. My mother and

family knew no better until

he came to our home in the fall

l862 at night when we were in

bed. He called at the gate and

and asked if the Widow Lewis

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heard him and said, "That

is Pap". We children called

him that. You can imagine what

a meeting that was in that little

family. The parents and five children;

Docia, Bettie, Caroline, John and

Jim. Just three left of these now.

Your grandpa's commanding officer

was General Hardee, his Captain

was Captain Baber.

Well I supose I might as well

quit I have done such a shabby

job writing this much. I am

so nervous I can hardly write

Any how you and Elsie must

Come to see sometime this sum-

mer or fall.

Love to you both

Your Uncle

Jim

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